Go big (As gas prices drop, America resumes big car love affair)

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by jcp123

Hey I have a family of three! We feel the need for something larger than my wife's Kia Rio. Neither of us are truck/SUV people, but with her large family (stereotypical Hispanic family, LOL), we find ourselves being visited by or visiting her family, and having seating for 5 in the Rio is limiting. I also haul fairly regularly in the course of landlording for my mother-in-law. So, we would like to move up to a minivan.

30mpg is not a hard stretch to get in a Dodge Caravan or a Honda Odyssey.

[jcp123]

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

30mpg is not a hard stretch to get in a Dodge Caravan or a Honda Odyssey.

I believe it. I had a little FE comparison route worked out when I was in the rental car industry. I was smitten with the Pentastar V6 in a Caravan I drove (and a Chrysler 200, a much-maligned car which I actually liked) - ballsy and efficient. So impressed was I that a Chrysler Town & Country is our top choice, so long as it has Stow N Go. For some reason we both prefer the Chrysler to the Dodge, even though we both eschew most of the creature comforts offered these days (a Rio was a 1st choice for us at the time owing to manual windows, etc.). An Odyssey is our backup choice. Not as quick, but fairly close. Efficient. Not a fan of Honda interiors though, and I keep hearing rumors of transmission problems. I guess Chrysler quality is kinda like Vegas gambling though...you're gonna lose. Ah, pros and cons on both.

Kia is out, it feels so...not really cheap, but generic, no personality. Dodge, kinda feels not as special. Sienna? I don't like the later models, in or out, on a lot of levels, and my Ma had an '04 which ended up being a reliability nightmare - second least reliable car in the family behind my Mom's Beetle. But not really that far behind...

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by jcp123

I believe it. I had a little FE comparison route worked out when I was in the rental car industry. I was smitten with the Pentastar V6 in a Caravan I drove - ballsy and efficient. So impressed was I that a Chrysler Town & Country is our top choice, so long as it has Stow N Go. An Odyssey is our backup choice. Not as quick, but fairly close. Efficient. Not a fan of Honda interiors though, and I keep hearing rumors of transmission problems. I guess Chrysler quality is kinda like Vegas gambling though...you're gonna lose. Ah, pros and cons on both.

Kia is out, it feels so...not really cheap, but generic, no personality. Dodge, kinda feels not as special. Sienna? I don't like the later models, and my Ma had an '04 which ended up being a reliability nightmare - second least reliable car in the family behind my Mom's Beetle. But not really that far behind...

I don't understand the transmission rumors with the Odyssey. My parents bought an' 04 from the original owner (close family friend) and they replaced the tranny at 203k miles. That seems about average. My mom's '99 CRV lasted to 209k and my dad's '01 Tacoma (sold now) lasted until 196k. I knew another friend who had a 06 Odyssey and the tranny went out at 224k. Auto transmissions seem to last right around 200k miles.

[PaleMelanesian]

I can address the Odyssey transmission thing, having an '04 myself.

02-04 5-speeds were the troublesome ones. I'm surprised about Balto's good fortune. Ours failed under warranty at 30k. The revised replacement is going strong at 130k now. They changed it for the new model in '05, so anything newer than that is better. I don't believe the 05+ models are as well built, though, especially the interior. Multiple friends/family are having more problems with theirs than we are with the 04. We've done transmission, a failed starter, a rear window that won't operate, and that's the total of repairs in 10 years.

[jcp123]

Ahh good to know. We are probably looking newer than those years

[rmay635703]

We should rename this thread to another

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ots-30569.html

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by jcp123

I believe it. I had a little FE comparison route worked out when I was in the rental car industry. I was smitten with the Pentastar V6 in a Caravan I drove (and a Chrysler 200, a much-maligned car which I actually liked) - ballsy and efficient. So impressed was I that a Chrysler Town & Country is our top choice, so long as it has Stow N Go. For some reason we both prefer the Chrysler to the Dodge, even though we both eschew most of the creature comforts offered these days (a Rio was a 1st choice for us at the time owing to manual windows, etc.). An Odyssey is our backup choice. Not as quick, but fairly close. Efficient. Not a fan of Honda interiors though, and I keep hearing rumors of transmission problems. I guess Chrysler quality is kinda like Vegas gambling though...you're gonna lose. Ah, pros and cons on both.

Kia is out, it feels so...not really cheap, but generic, no personality. Dodge, kinda feels not as special. Sienna? I don't like the later models, in or out, on a lot of levels, and my Ma had an '04 which ended up being a reliability nightmare - second least reliable car in the family behind my Mom's Beetle. But not really that far behind...

There is a brand new KIA for 2015 worth checking out. It may not be the best but when you factor in price and a 10 year warranty it starts to seem real good. Watch out for the first couple years of the Dodge 3.6 pentstar as they had some cylinder head cracking problems. We just went from a 2007 KIA van to a 2009 Buick Enclave which gets better MPG with a little less room but we may go back to a minivan. I thought the Enclave may be able to do it all, 7 passenger, 24 mpg, 4500 pound tow rating, AWD, but I worry about reliability. We have had great service from Grand Caravans in the past, and we miss things like sliding doors. Sliding doors seem so much better for a nice wide opening even in close parking. We rented a new Ford Explorer and between the thickness of the door panels and the curvature of the ddor you had to open it a foot before a gap even started to form, you basically needed a handicapped spot just to get out of the beast!

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

I can address the Odyssey transmission thing, having an '04 myself.

02-04 5-speeds were the troublesome ones. I'm surprised about Balto's good fortune. Ours failed under warranty at 30k. The revised replacement is going strong at 130k now. They changed it for the new model in '05, so anything newer than that is better. I don't believe the 05+ models are as well built, though, especially the interior. Multiple friends/family are having more problems with theirs than we are with the 04. We've done transmission, a failed starter, a rear window that won't operate, and that's the total of repairs in 10 years.

Both of the aforementioned Odysseys were the automatic ones.

[dirtydave]

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

30mpg is not a hard stretch to get in a Dodge Caravan or a Honda Odyssey.

Before I joined here and was just a lurker I was driving a gutted out 02 dodge caravan with the 3.3V6. Automatic

I drove it in the rolling hills of TN and my highest tank was 32MPG in my best eco driving. zero aeromods, EOC to red lights. and plenty of neutral coasting. I would love to get another one and aeromod the hell out of it.

[user removed]

When $2.50 a gallon is cheap we have all been brainwashed by the peak prices of prior years. I remember when it was 5% of $2.50.

I also see a lot of those older reverse oil wells on craigslist, at least here locally they seem to have increased and the prices are laughable.

regards
mech